The present invention relates to a vacuum switching tube comprising a housing which is composed of at least one ceramic portion and of metal portions, whereby at least one metal portion contains a thick-walled and a thin-walled cylindrical region, whereby a step preceding out in the radial direction is formed in the inner wall at the transition of the thick-walled to the thin-walled cylindrical region, whereby the thin-walled cylindrical region is connected to the end face of a ceramic element, and whereby a vapor screen is provided, and whereby the vapor screen is soldered to the step of the metal portion. Such a vacuum switching tube of the type generally set forth above is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,345, fully incorporated herein by this reference. The vacuum switching tube disclosed therein is constructed in a relatively complicated manner; it contains a plurality of solder locations and other metal-to-ceramic junctions. The shield design alone requires a plurality of retaining arms which must be soldered, first of all, to the shield and, secondly, to the thick-wall metal portion.